The Gospel of Thomas: A Guidebook for Spiritual Practice

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The Gospel of Thomas: A Guidebook for Spiritual Practice (eBook) Pub. Date: 6/1/2004 Publisher: SkyLight Paths Publishing
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The Gospel of Thomas: A Guidebook for Spiritual Practice Pub. Date: 6/28/2004 Publisher: Skylight Paths Publishing

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Overview

"In the decades since its discovery, the Gospel of Thomas has intrigued people of all faiths around the world. Shedding new light on the origins of Christianity, the Gospel of Thomas raises questions about whether the New Testament's version of Jesus's teachings is entirely accurate and complete. In the Gospel of Thomas we see Jesus as a wisdom-loving sage, sharing aphorisms about the value of the present and each person's role in the creation of the Kingdom of God here on earth. But these inspiring sayings can leave you wondering, "What next?"" Now you can learn how to start applying Jesus's wisdom to your own life - and, in turn, to the world around you. This unique guidebook leads you through Thomas, offering practices that help you translate Jesus's wisdom into a more fulfilling, enriching daily life.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

To the many subcategories of Christianity, we can now add the "Thomas Believer." That's what Miller, chair of the Lake Forest College religion department, calls himself and devotees of the Gospel of Thomas, a collection of Jesus' sayings that had been circulating since the 19th century in fragmentary form but were found as a complete Coptic text at Nag Hammadi in Egypt in 1945. This guidebook, using Stevan Davies's translation, introduces the gospel and encourages readers to "become Jesus' twin," an image based on the name Thomas, which means "twin." Each chapter includes commentary on five to six sayings, along with a section on practice and questions for reflection. The concept of practice is essential for Miller, who rather controversially writes that Jesus "did not want our praise but our practice." Some of the practices are concrete spiritual exercises described in a "how to" fashion, while others feel more like additional commentary. The reflection questions at the end of each chapter would be more useful if they were more open-ended and less rhetorical ("Does it make sense to chain smoke while discussing consciousness expansion?"). The heart of this guidebook is the commentary; Miller is a captivating storyteller as well as a scholar. Anyone drawn to a universalistic spirituality will find much to savor and pass along here. (July 15) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

Miller (chair, religion, Lake Forest Coll.; The Wisdom of the Carpenter) has written an admirably sensible if quite contemporary response to the ever-cryptic Gospel of Thomas, the famous and possibly Gnostic collection of sayings attributed to Jesus recovered from the sands of Egypt in 1945. Miller groups selected sayings thematically, responding to each in turn, closing each chapter with further questions for reflection. Miller finds the key to these sayings not in a temporally defined faith but in ever-growing "awareness." In the wake of the popularity of Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code, Miller's book ought to attract a wide readership. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781594730474
Publisher: Skylight Paths Publishing
Publication date: 6/28/2004
Pages: 160
Sales rank: 339,204
Product dimensions: 6.34 (w) x 8.78 (h) x 0.43 (d)

	Prelude : the faith of a Thomas believer
1	Becoming a spiritual adult	1
2	Making life all of a piece	9
3	Sorting out the old and the new	13
4	Religion, organized and unorganized	21
5	Being a healing presence	31
6	Peace, bad and good	35
7	Childlike, not childish	41
8	Daring to be a city on a hill	49
9	Becoming totally receptive	55
10	Now/here or nowhere	61
11	Marinating in mystery	67
12	Jesus for Christians and non-Christians	77
13	Making space for the spirit	91
14	Experiencing God's reign	101
15	God's reign calls for ready hands	107
16	Spirituality is not skygazing	117
	About SkyLight paths	133

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Anonymous

Posted January 12, 2005

the REAL gospel of Jesus will transform you here

I was glad I finally found a truth to believe in after reading Ron Miller's THE GOSPEL OF THOMAS. This is an eye opening and welcoming book for those of us who question the 'Church' as it exists now. Read and you shall believe!
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